July 20, 2009

Effective communication in relation to employee performance: a case study of the University of East London Library and Learning services

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

According to and (2003) “the establishment of an
effective communication system is the only guarantee that everybody will be
working together to achieve organisational goals”. Managers need to
communicate with employees in order to be effective as much as they need to
exchange information with other managers.

The purpose of employee communication in an organisation is
essentially about involving people in the organisation. It can not be
over-emphasised that employees will only be able to perform their best if they
know their duties, obligations and rights and have an opportunity of making
their views known to management on issues that affect them.

Good communications is essential to the management process
and is crucial to the management of organisational change. (1998) said
that “poor communication may result in failure to define objectives clearly,
and should this happen, employees are sceptical as to what they are to do and
meaningful review of performance becomes difficult if not impossible”.

The aim of communication in modern management is to achieve
a closer understanding between all employees, including managers that a
complete awareness of aims, up to date information and job responsibility will
enable each member of staff to be fully productive when effectively motivated.
Organisational communication consists of corporate communication which
includes newsletters, reports, management briefings, emails and personal
communication involves face to face discussion between individuals outside
work structure.

(2005) states that “employee communications means the
provision and exchange of information and instructions, which enable an
organisation to function efficiently and employees to be properly informed
about developments”. It goes further to say that it covers the information to
be provided, the channels along which it passes and the way it is
communicated.

Therefore, employee communication is the essential to
business. It is truism that people in organisations need to talk to each other
as well as exchange views and ideas on issues, receive instructions and
discuss problems and developments.

In order to be effective, the process of employee
communication must be clear, easily understood and concise. It should also be
presented objectively in a manageable form to avoid rejection by the
recipient.

This makes lateral or inter-departmental communication
imperative. (2005) proved that “good employee communications can improve
management performance and decision making by allowing employees to express
their views and thereby help managers to arrive at sound decisions”.

This is often more readily accepted by employees as a
whole, improve employees’ performance and commitment as employees will perform
better if they are given regular and accurate information about the jobs such
as updated technical instructions, targets, deadlines and feedback and
increased job satisfaction are achieved as employees are more likely to be
motivated if they have a good understanding of their job and how it fits into
the organisation, and are encouraged to express their views, opinions and
ideas.

The process theories provide a much sounder theoretical
explanation of work motivation. The equity theory of Adam was based on social
comparison to determine whether a worker is being fairly remunerated. Hence,
workers are motivated by a fair return for effort judged against others in
similar jobs, So, the greater the inequity, the greater the motivation.
Therefore, inequity would result in either putting in more efforts, demand
greater rewards, modify perception of others, withdraw commitment or leave the
organisation.

Given that people differ widely in the needs, which they
regard as being important, it follows that to solve a motivational problem the
first necessity is to understand the particular needs, which are most
important to the individual concerned. People have such a wider variety of
needs that one cannot hope to satisfy them all. Moreover, there are many
needs, which cannot be satisfied easily or practically within the
organisational context. So a manager needs to discover which need the
individual would most like to be fulfilled, and is within the manager’s or the
organisation’s power to fulfil

It is now recognised that human resources is the most
important of all resources as human capacity constitute the pivot of improved
productivity and effective utilisation of all other resources, ( and
1998). According to (1994) “the staffs of an organisation is its
lifeblood”. Success will depend on them, and they have the capacity to destroy
a concern, wreck plans and frustrate managerial actions. This ability to make
or break organisation is enough to convince any manager of the need to pay due
attention to the question of how best to motivate staff.

(1999) defined communication as, “a process involving
the transmission and accurate replication of ideas reinforced by feedback,
purporting to stimulate actions to accomplish organisational goals”.
(2002) defined employee performance as “a measure of the degree or extent
which an employee meets set organisational targets or objectives”.

Hence, the related performances to the outcomes of activity
are necessary endeavours.

He explained that this can be measured against set targets
or goals expressed as projects or tasks to be satisfactorily completed over a
specific period of time. He stated that organisations acknowledge that the
effectiveness of human resources management substantially affects bottom-line
performance and remarked that the problem for most managers is to determine
how best to achieve targets and improve employee performance. (1997)
defined performance management as “a systematic approach to improving
individual and team performance in order to achieve organisational goals”.

(1999) observed that “performance management implies
an intervention aimed at influencing employee performance in a particular way
to achieve organisational goals”. He opined that the philosophy of performance
management hinges on the belief that better organisational performance will be
achieved by raising individual employee performance. Therefore, the purpose of
performance management is to contribute to the achievement of high performance
by the organisation and its employees. So, it is a key tool for organisational
success. Performance management necessarily examines how results are achieved
to provide required information to determine what is to be done to improve the
results.

and (2005) say “the purpose of performance
management is to contribute to the achievement of high performance by
organisations and its employees”. They stated that “high performance” means
reaching and exceeding targets for the delivery of productivity, quality,
customer service, growth, profits and shareholder value. In their view, it is
to make the good better, share understanding about what is to be achieved,
develop the capacity of people to achieve it, provide the support and guidance
people need to deliver higher performance and achieve their full potential.

They concluded that it should focus on under-performers and
achieve this positively by enabling employees to improve their performance
through creative use of their abilities. Therefore, performance management
must examine how results are obtained as a precondition to determine what
should be done next to improve results.

BACKGROUND

The Library and Learning Services is at the heart of the
University, facilitating its Strategic plan and underpinning many aspects of
its work. A central part of the learning environment, the department delivers
high-quality Library and learning services which actively meet the needs of
the diverse learning, teaching and research communities of the university. The
service seeks to enable, support, develop and retain the learning community of
the University and to encourage learning through accessible learning ‘places’
and comprehensive traditional and electronic services. The department teaches
the Information skills required for academic work, employment and learning
throughout life. Furthermore, the service also seeks to enhance the
University’s reputation for access to learning within local boroughs and at a
regional, national and international level.

Communication within the library is considered to be poor
in all directions - sideways, upwards and downwards. In particular, some
managers appear to assume that staff will know what they are thinking.
Information that is relevant to staff is sometimes withheld, because of pure
ineptness on the part of management.

There is little recognition that general information on
where the library is going or what plans are being considered at senior level
might be of interest to staff. The secrecy habit set at the top management
level is replicated all through the hierarchy.

Communication with the parent body is also rather poor.
There is little appreciation on the University’s part of what the library is
capable of doing, or indeed of what it does at present.

At some of the Library & Learning Service sites the
decision making is unclear. Staff are frustrated and severely underused,
because of inadequate delegation at all levels. There is little job rotation,
and the library is compartmentalized and lacking in corporate spirit. There is
a lack of trust, and the Manager is excessively remote. Meetings are badly run
and their purposes are confused. Communication within the library and with the
outside world is feeble. The culture is defensive, and problems are postponed.
Priorities need to be established.

Some senior managers are bogged down in routine matters,
most of which should be dealt with well below their level. This gives them too
little time for thinking and planning, or for the very necessary activity of
“walking about”. This is a main reason why they, appear remote to staff (see
below). One cause of their being bogged down is that the boundaries of
decision-making power are not clear at any level. Staff are uncertain when
they need to ask, when they need to tell, and when they do not even need to
tell. As a result, many matters are referred upwards unnecessarily.

The library has taken some steps in the direction of
participative management, but managers seem to confuse consultation, which
commonly consists of asking staff what they think and then taking decisions
themselves, with participation, which means involving staff in the making of
decisions.

The Library & Learning Services capabilities in terms the
of effective leadership and personnel on the ground operate in relation to
available technology and communication system; what contribution or support it
requires from the various schools in the University to maintain and develop
it’s strategies and capabilities and internal processes the service must do
extremely well at. Performance management implies an intervention aimed at
influencing employee performance in a particular way to achieve organisational
goals.

The government’s drive for developing strategy for longer
term has led to pressure on the academic sector to measure output and
performance in an effort to introduce widening participation in Higher
Education for people from low income backgrounds and enhancing the quality of
provision in a number of areas. It is vital to mention that before performance
can be assessed, it has to be measured. However, achieving measures of
performance is not an easy task whether in relation to individuals or
organisations. In the private sector, criteria such as sales, profit or loss,
market share, years in business can and are used to establish some measure of
performance.

In the case of the University of East London Library and
Learning Services, this can be measured in terms of Demand by
developing induction materials and services to and beyond the first year
students and develop services to support part-time, distance and off campus
study. Retention by improving student / staff feedback mechanisms, by
providing induction, information and research skills training.

Enhancing the quality of Library and Learning Services
provisionby increasing LLS subject Specialists’ involvement / liaison
with academic colleagues within the University can also be measured. Improve
communication with schools on new course development, discuss rebalancing
books and printed and electronic resources spend with schools, improve &
expand LLS publicity & marketing materials, develop & implement a collection
development policy for all subject areas, maintain and improve flexible
opening hours, improve induction, basic skills & information skills training
for students, monitor survey of part-time and off-campus provision are other
areas which can be measured. This can also be measured in terms of income
generated from photocopying, fines, and lost books, and bids to Higher
Education Funding Council for England and Joint Information Systems Committee.

The identifiable possible causes of the problem of low
performance of the employees can be attributed to the following;

·Lack of effective communication

·Ineffective leadership supervision

·Lack of motivation

RESEARCH AIM / HYPOTHESES

The aim of the research is to explore and examine the
impact of effective communication on employee performance in order to
determine its importance. The research aims to explore other related factors
that influence performance. Finally to explore what strategies are needed to
help staff understand the role of effective communication in relation to
employee performance.

OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH WILL BE

To examine how effective communication impacts on employee
performance

Explore related factors influencing employee performance.

Recommend appropriate measures to improve employee
performance in the Library & Learning Services Department and the University
as a whole.

THE RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY

The rationale for embarking on the research is because
ineffective management is one of the biggest problems of the department. It is
intended to find out how the identified problems confronting the department
can be resolved in order to enhance performance and move the department
forward. This becomes imperative against the objectives of the University’s
efforts to enhance effectiveness, and the increasing need to pay attention to
the study of performance management in the establishment in order to help
managers understand how best to harness employee performance for the benefit
of the organisation. My appointment as a Library & Learning Services Manager
of the University has provided me with the motivation for wanting to carry out
the research.

CHAPTER
TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Existing literature on performance management shows that
although various authorities on the subject have differently defined it’s
meaning, they are however unanimous about the goal of performance management.
and (2005) defined performance in terms of upholding the values of the
organisation- “living the values”. They went further to say that it is an
aspect of behaviour which focuses on what people do to realise core values
such as concern for quality, people, equal opportunity and operating
ethically. In other words, it implies translating espoused values into values
in use by ensuring that the rhetoric becomes reality.

(1994) defined performance management as “a management
process designed to link the organisation’s objectives with those of the
individuals in such a way as to ensure that both individual and corporate
objectives are, as far as possible, met”. He stated that the effective
management of performance is not only vital for the long-term survival of the
organisation but is also a moral obligation on the employer as it is clearly
in the best interest of the employee. According to (1999) “performance
management implies an intervention aimed at influencing employee performance
in a particular way to achieve organisational goals”.

Early writers on employee performance tended to assume that
performance was influenced by a relatively small number of factors. Therefore,
they thought that performance was a product of ability and motivation. While
it is true that ability and motivation are undoubtedly key factors in
performance, they are not the only factors influencing levels of work
performance. Thus, in the course of time it was felt that performance depended
on ability, motivation and resources. However, the dissatisfaction with the
simplistic attempts to explain employee performance has persisted to this day
and is apparent in the literature. As such, behavioural scientists are still
seeking explanations for factors, which are capable of influencing employee
performance.

(2003) reasoned that the argument for performance
management is that “by creating a shared vision of where the whole
organisation wants to be and ensuring that every member of the organisation
understands his or her part in fulfilling that vision, individual employee
performance can be managed in a way that makes the organisational vision
achievable”.

Other writers like and (1993) supported the
argument that “performance management strategy has potential benefits to the
employee vis-à-vis the organisation”. They remarked that it should improve
involvement and motivation especially if the organisation’s reward systems
support performance management, improve internal communication of both the
vision and information required to established and maintain improved
performance. In other words, performance management signifies an approach to
setting and meeting organisational objectives through a process involving the
setting and meeting of the objectives of business units and individuals.

According to (1991) “managing for optimal performance
requires spending time with those who actually do the job and includes setting
clear expectations about the work to be done; providing feedback about how
things are going; pointing out discrepancies in performance-related behaviour;
coaching to improve performance; and formally reviewing performance against
well-defined plan”.

2.1 THE ROLE OF COMMUNICATION IN EMPLOYEE
PERFORMANCE

According to and (2003) “the establishment of
an effective communication system is the only guarantee that everybody will be
working together to achieve organisational goals”. Managers need to
communicate with employees in order to be effective as much as they need to
exchange information with other managers.

The purpose of employee communication in an organisation is
essentially about involving people in the organisation. It can not be
over-emphasised that employees will only be able to perform their best if they
know their duties, obligations and rights and have an opportunity of making
their views known to management on issues that affect them. Good
communications is essential to the management process and is crucial to the
management of organisational change.

(1998) said that “poor communication may result in
failure to define objectives clearly, and should this happen, employees are
sceptical as to what they are to do and meaningful review of performance
becomes difficult if not impossible”.

The aim of communication in modern management is to achieve
a closer understanding between all employees, including managers that a
complete awareness of aims, up to date information and job responsibility will
enable each staff to be fully productive when effectively motivated.

(2005) states that “employee communications means the
provision and exchange of information and instructions, which enable an
organisation to function efficiently and employees to be properly informed
about developments”. It goes further to say that it covers the information to
be provided, the channels along which it passes and the way it is
communicated. Therefore, employee communication is essential to business. It
is truism that people in organisations need to talk to each other as well as
exchange views and ideas on issues, receive instructions and discuss problems
and developments.

In order to be effective, the process of employee
communication must be clear, easily understood and concise. It should also be
presented objectively in a manageable form to avoid rejection by the
recipient.

This makes lateral or inter-departmental communication
imperative. (2005) proved that “good employee communications can improve
management performance and decision making by allowing employees to express
their views and thereby help managers to arrive at sound decisions” This is
often more readily accepted by employees as a whole, improve employees’
performance and commitment as employees will perform better if they are given
regular and accurate information about the jobs such as updated technical
instructions, targets, deadlines and feedback and increased job satisfaction
are achieved as employees are more likely to be motivated if they have a good
understanding of their job and how it fits into the organisation, and are
encouraged to express their views, opinions and ideas. Therefore, it should be
regular and systematic, open to questions being asked and answered. So, a
variety of communication methods, both spoken and written will be needed. The
mix of methods will depend mainly on the size and structure of the
organisation.

Computer-based electronic mail systems can be a useful aid
to communication and their increasing availability means that they are no
longer the sole preserve of large organisations. Face-to-face communication is
direct, swift and allows discussion, questioning and feedback to take place
but should be supplemented by written material where information is detailed
or complex and records are important.

The main methods of formal face-to-face or oral
communications are group meetings, between managers and employees for whom
they are responsible; inter-departmental briefings which are meetings between
managers in different departments to encourage a unified approach to decision
making, especially in large organisations. It is necessary to observe that
informal channels of communication play a significant part in the transmission
of information and instructions in any organisation as they pass news and
information quickly, but they are unreliable as they are likely to encourage
ill-informed rumours.

The main methods of written communication are conveyed
through company handbooks which bring together employment and job related
information which employees need to know and which does not change too often,
such as holiday arrangements, company rules and disciplinary/grievance
procedures; house journals and newsletters which enable factual information
about an organisation to be presented on a regular basis. They usually contain
a large element of social and personal news; departmental bulletins which give
information on a sectional, departmental or wider basis about specific matters
of general interest; notices placed on well situated notice boards to bring
the attention of a wide audience to general matters of importance; individual
letters to employees which is used to give information about matters of major
importance accurately.

Other methods of communication includes the use of
intranets to convey information on internal computer networks which can be
maintained in a structured way and be easily accessible by employees; audio
visual aids such as video, film or tape/ slide presentations which are
particularly useful for explaining technical developments or financial
performance. It is important to provide opportunity for feedback. Normally,
only large firms can consider producing films or videotapes, but even small
firms can make their own slide presentations.

Many authorities, writers and scholars such as &
(2001), & (2002) have spoken and written extensively on the direct
relationship between communication and employee performance vis-à-vis other
related factors like leadership and culture, which impact on employee
performance and productivity. However, different definitional perspectives
were adopted.

For the purpose of my research study, I would like to
narrow them down to the critical factors, which relate the case study of
University of East London Library and Learning Services to suit my research
objectives.

(1999) defined communication as “a process involving
the transmission and accurate replication of ideas, reinforced feedback,
purporting to stimulate actions to accomplish organisational goals”.
Communication in organisations should provide departments and employees with
information and understanding that will enable and encourage them to prepare
their jobs effectively. All employees including managers require information
appropriate to the technical coordination, and motivational or attitudinal
aspects of their jobs.

and (2001) stated that “the productivity of
employees largely depends on the quality of information made available to them
about their work”. He pointed out that the need for co-ordination is a
function of the interdependence of the parts of an organisation. The greater
the interdependence, the greater the need for co-ordination, and that
co-ordination can only be achieved through communication. and
(2002) explained how key leader communication strategies can increase employee
commitment, loyalty and productivity and cited (1998) and (2001)
to buttress the fact that leader communication has long been proved to have
great potential to aid organisations in their quest for committed employees.

A study carried out by (1998) shows that more than
34% of employee turnover was due to commitment, and this can cost
organisations an estimated 100% to 150% of the worker’s annual salary. It has
been argued (2001) that “high levels of employee loyalty have been
linked to an established 11% boost in productivity”.

and (2002) observe that “communication is a
powerful catalyst for establishing and sustaining the emotional state that is
shared by highly committed workers and leaders”, and showed that leader
communication abilities can be improved as a result of training, and this
improvement positively affects performance.

Research also shows that most communication experts agree
that active listening is a major factor in effective leader communication, and
include empathetic body language, posing helpful questions, validating
employee expression through considerable conversation turn-talking, and
paraphrasing to ensure mutual understanding. (2004) examined the
importance of communication within business networks and its role in
marketplace success and observes that there has been a distinct shift of
emphasis regarding the role of communication within the market domain.

Other researchers have also placed communication at the
heart of the marketing concept as a business philosophy and (1998)
and (1996). and (1999). This is particularly so because
marketing managers must relate consumer needs and project development
operations effectively if they are to succeed in developing new and profitable
offerings in the market place. This places communication activities of
organisational teams and their impact on team effectiveness at the heart a
firm’s market-driven behaviour.

(2002) concedes that “communication can serve to
transmit persuasive information, encourage participative decision-making, and
encourage commitment and loyalty”. (1995) remarked that “at the heart of
the managerial process lies decision-making and quality decision-making relies
on competent communication”. Speaking in similar vein, (1997) pointed
out that “for communication policies to become more than mere rhetoric’s,
communication practice in any organisation must include professional skills, a
commitment to tasks which need to be done on a regular basis and with all
stakeholder groups, clear open and transparent system; and to a more and
ethical operational process”.

(2001) emphasised that if all employees are to meet
the objectives of the organisation for which they work, they have to be
effective and active communicators.

Therefore, managers need to promote collaboration, enlist
support and provide clear expectations if they want to mobilise for commitment
since the very heart of business lies in it ability to communicate.

Supporting this view point, and (1997) stressed
that “the communication process has to be interactive, with clear
understanding of how perception affects interpretation of messages and the
ability of the organisation to measure and monitor transfer of meaning or
understanding of spoken or written communication, non- verbal and graphic
communication”. It has been argued by (1995) that “without clear
research monitoring and evaluation of the medium and the message,
communication barriers is inevitable - with a lowering of performance
standards, lower productivity and worsening organisational identity, image and
reputation”.

To emphasise the centrality of communication to management,
many authorities argued that communication is important in an organisation.
(1998) argued that “no organisation or society can survive without effective
system of communication”. He emphasised that whereas management is the
foundation upon which any organisation is built information is the cornerstone
of effective management. Communication occurs regularly in organisations and
is the foundation of all relationships. (1999) supported this view, and
observed that managers spend most of their time and day in scheduled and
unscheduled meetings, writing, reading and talking to employees, other
managers, customers and other stakeholders on telephones.

Also, (2003) stated that “without communication,
businesses will most certainly fail as a result of anger, frustration, stress,
disappointment and misunderstanding”. He emphasised the role of communication
by pointing out that if people do not know what you are trying to do, they
cannot help or co-operate. Similarly, and (1997) stated that “the
concept of human resources management emphasises the enhancement of employee
productivity and efficiency through effective communication”.

They observed that communication will undoubtedly be more
effective if it is designed to be “two-way to encourage individual
involvement. An example of a successful two-way briefing system within an
organisation is that of the East London and City Mental Health Trust.

and (1999) stress that “good communications
within an organisation are clearly vital both to its performance and to
attracting and retaining motivated employees and pointed out communication
work best when upward flow of information from employees to management is
encouraged and maintained”. They explain that bottom-up communication is an
invaluable technique for communicating and motivating employee as it gives
employees ownership of the idea.

(1997) stated that “motivation, persuasion, influence
or any other management activity that might seek to elicit greater dedication
or effort are most totally dependent on the flow of communication”. He
emphasises that the primary purpose of communication is to motivate a response
and produce the activity which is most appropriate for the achievement of
established goals. It is communication that provides the transmission vehicle
for any chosen technique and controls, to a great extent, the degree of
success attainable.

Similarly, and , (1997) emphasised on the importance
of communication and observed that it is essential to integrate and
co-ordinate the activities of people in the organisation. They stated that in
the absence of communication, no individual worker can appreciate the overall
objectives of an organisation, and there is a possibility that people in the
same organisation will work towards different goals instead of common goal.

and (1994) considered the role of feedback in
communication and observed that poor performance at work may continue because
the employee does not receive any feedback indicating that performance is
below standard, or lacks crucial information which would indicate in what way
performance should be modified in order to improve it.

According to and (1999) upward communication
can provide a reading on how much of a downward message actually reached it’s
destination and how well it was received and understood. They observed that
upward communication can give higher management many clues regarding the most
effective management strategies if those higher-levels management will only
listen. They pointed out that some administrators tend to consider
communication to be a one-way street, and fail to see the value obtained from
encouraging employees to discuss fully the policies and plans of the
organisation. They do not provide a clear channel for funnelling information,
opinions and attitude up through the organisation.

This view is supported by many writers and authorities; for
example, (1998) observed that the bigger problem most larger companies
have is appearing to be a faceless organisation with no soul. This expression
is exacerbated by lack of input from employees upward to management. He also
pointed out that the single biggest criticism employees have of companies is
that they do not encourage upward as well as downward communication. A
majority seek workers’ opinion about key issues, according to observation made
by workers’ in the larger companies do not feel free to express their
opinions at all.

(1991) in his book stated why downward communications
cannot work because all if one can communicate downwards are commands and
nothing connected with understanding let alone motivation which requires
communication upwards from those who perceive to those who want to reach
perception. He emphasised that downward communication does not work- only
upward communication do, and effective communication in organisations requires
management by objectives. He pointed out that communication is not between
“me” and “you”, but always from one member of “us” to another. Several
students have investigated the effects of upward feedback and reactions to the
feedback on changes in managerial performance.

(1994) found that upward feedback leads to
subordinates perceiving positive changes in the boss’s subsequent behaviour.
(1998) asked first line managers for their reactions to subordinate ratings
one week after receiving feedback. They discovered that managers were
generally supportive of the subordinate appraisal. (1998) found that managers
who received feedback following an initial administration of an upward
feedback survey improved their performance six months later, whereas managers
who did not receive feedback initially did not improve their performance over
time.

According to and (2004), one of an
organisation’s most important assets is its staff, and employee loyalty is
often more important that securing profitable growth, market share, or cost
position. They argue that such relationships, however, are only possible if
people feel valued, and they only feel valued if they are well informed and
that bottom-up communication is central in ensuring that employees feel valued
and play active role in contributing to organisation policies and procedures.
They pointed out that effective communication involves utilising information
flow (downward, upward and lateral) to the full, to relay essential
organisation matters through as many channels as possible.

and (1999) examined how the choice of written
and spoken communication can have an impact on organisational behaviour and
quote the work of (1987) who surveyed a “sample of managers” about the
medium in which they preferred using to communicate messages that differed
with respect to how clear or “ambiguous” they were.

The research findings showed that oral media, such as
face-to-face contact was preferred for ambiguous messages, and written media
such as memos were preferred for clear messages. These and other techniques
such as employee’s feedback through suggestion schemes, use of queuing or the
orderly lining up of incoming information, and the minimalisation of
distortion and omission through verification are all practical ways of
improving communication process.

The role of communication within business has never been
more important, because Information about an organisation- both for internal
consumption by management and staff, and external use by customers and
shareholders can influence employee performance as much as the organisation’s
success. Information dissemination also plays a vital role between members of
an organisation, and in the relationship between an organisation and its
environment or public. However, “information will be of little or no relevance
unless it is accurate, credible, reliable, timely and retrievable” ( 2005). In
the contemporary work place, organisations have moved towards perceiving
communication as an integral part of all activities aimed at achieving the
organisation’s objectives in a stakeholder environment.

According to (1998) the primary things that need to
be communicated to employees are matters that affect their job, that is,
things that will enable them to do their job better.

This is particularly in relation to the terms and
conditions of their service, information about the organisation are also
important because employees have interest in what is happening in the
organisation. So management should normally provide reports to all employees
on the organisation’s objectives and policies, present performance and
progress, future plans and prospects. This information should relate to
financial performance, state of the market, changes in products and services,
development in technology and investments.

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

The research approach being inductive, will emphasis the
collection of qualitative data in order to gain an understanding of the
meanings individual attach to events within the research context? The word
qualitative implies an emphasis on the quality of entities and on processes
and meanings that are not experimentally measured in terms of quantity,
amount, intensity or frequency. Therefore, emphasis is on the socially
constructed nature of reality, the intimate relationship between the
researcher and what is studied.

According to (2003) “research strategy is a general
plan of how the research question will be answered. The need for a clear
research strategy crucially reflects the fact that the researcher has
carefully thought about why a particular strategy is being employed”. To this
end, my research strategy will be survey and case study. The survey is being
adopted because it is appropriate because it will allow for the collection of
a large amount of data from a sizeable population in a highly economical way.

Moreover, the survey strategy is easily understood by
people and gives the researcher more control over the research process. As the
questionnaire is not the only data collection method that belongs to the
survey strategy, structured interviews where standardised questions are asked
of all interviewees, which also fall within survey strategy, will be applied.
This is especially so because given the short time frame for writing and
submitting this research project, it will not be feasible to carry out a
reliable questionnaire survey for the reason that necessary feedback may not
be received from a large number of respondents. So, this fact constitutes
obvious limitations to the study.

However, the obvious advantages include the fact that
face-to-face interviews with members of staff will afford me the opportunity
of their retrospective views on the research topic first hand. For example, I
will be able to raise many pertinent questions related to the research and
receive on-the-spot responses. It will allow a detailed discussion of the
issues in question and all difficulties or problems regarding understanding of
relevant points resolved.

Furthermore, the sincerity of the answers given to the
questions raised can be more easily determined. Moreover, the method will also
enable me to gain experience from knowledgeable experts such as my erudite
lecturers and other authorities on the research topic.

The telephone research will enable me to reach across to
many colleagues, both senior and junior members of staff as well as some
retirees of the services in order to determine their feelings and opinions on
the research topic. Thus, a broad useful sample which cuts across various
cadres will be covered. The researcher being a participant observer who works
for the service as a Library and Learning services Manager for over four years
in a middle management position will as much as possible not allow personal
bias to influence her decisions and in critically analysing data collected.

The case study is a very worthwhile way of exploring
existing theory. In addition, the case study strategy also has considerable
ability to generate answers to ‘why’? as well as the ‘what’? and ‘how’?
questions. This strategy is of particular interest to me as I wish to gain a
rich understanding of the content of the research. Furthermore, I consider it
an appropriate strategy for doing a research which involves an empirical
investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within ‘real life’
context such as the one being aimed at in this research project - the impact
of effective communication on employee performance, using multi-sources of
evidence. Thus, the methodology to be adopted will generate primary data from
face-to-face and telephone interviews and participant observation.

The secondary data are generated from relevant reports,
research and statistics of the Service, textbooks, journals, articles,
magazines and newspaper publications. The major advantage of this source is
that it provides a wide range of authentic and reliable materials to replenish
the resources gathered from the primary data collected. However, its main
disadvantage is that information collected from the source is tailored to meet
other circumstances, situations and objectives.

The
interviews conducted sought to find out the following:

What factors are basic to
employee performance?

What is the role of
communication?

What are the main sources of
employee communication?

The role of leadership in
employee communication.

The relevance of culture to
employee performance.

Effect of technology on
employee performance.

The place of motivation in
employee performance.

The contribution of training
to performance.

What management can do to
enhance performance?

How employees can enhance
productivity.

Assess the relative impact
of the various factors.

The case
study was based on theoretical and conceptual models as well as responses
generated from interviews conducted, which then related to the research
question.

CHAPTER FOUR

ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

The following models and concepts were used to analyse the
case study of the University of East London Library & Learning Services

COMMUNICATION MODEL

In order to understand how communication works we must be
able to describe each of the component parts of the process, and we must also
see how each part fits into the whole. To make things easier, communication
theorists have developed a simplified model or mental picture of the
communication process. The model tells us what the individual parts of the
communication process are, and demonstrates how these parts are related to
each other.

However, no single model of communication takes into
account all elements that may be involved in a specific situation regardless
of the chosen communication medium. Communication models are simplified
attempts to show how the complex concept of communication is carried out. All
models have three components – the source, which can be individual or group;
the message, which may be written, a gesture or electronically processed and
the receiver, which could be an individual or a group.

THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS

The only way that management can be achieved in an
organisation is through the process of communication.

As a process, communication is the relationship between
communicator, message, and audience. The figure below is a simplified view of
the communication process. It shows three points: the source of information,
the receiver and the source of information, the receiver and the receiver
understands.

It also shows the intermediate stages of transmission and
interpretation. The goal of communication is that the receiver’s understanding
match the meaning originally intended at the source.

However, that goal is difficult to reach because intended
communication can be impeded at any stage in its journey.

Source
of
Receiver’s

InformationTransmission ReceiverInterpretationUnderstanding

Figure 4.1: The communication process (1991)

(1991) puts together a model of communication based
on the assumptions made by managers within organisations. The model comprises
three approaches- arrow, circuit and dance. The arrow approach aligns with
and ’s (1949) approach to communication because it is concerned with the
transport of messages that have clarity, and as such, is unhindered by
disturbances such as noise.

SENDER
MEDIUM RECEIVER

Team leader
Face-to-face Team member

A
B

Figure 4.2: An example of the arrow approach (1991)

In the diagram above, the team leader (A) puts together
instructions which he wants a team member (B) to receive. This is sent by a
medium of face-to-face to the team member. The arrow is the direction of the
communication from (A) to (B).

(1991) holds the view that every form of
communication has within a number of assumption the team leader’s assumptions
are: what happens to be clear and precise to one person is clear and precise
to another: credibility is something given to the speaker possesses and not
something given to the speaker by the audience, communication is essentially a
one-way activity. Communication effectiveness implies being able to put
precisely and clearly thoughts into words, speaking with credibility and
authority, getting the desired results after talking to people. However, it is
possible that there could be difference between the effectiveness of the
communication as perceived by the team leader and the team member especially
when the team member does not share the underlying assumptions of the team
leader and the result is communication breakdown.

Figure 4.3: ’s
(1948) model of the communication process showing all its elements

Analysed against the background of the communication model,
it can be appreciated that the communication model in the Library & Learning
Services is no doubt limited by a number of factors.

For instance, the bureaucratic structure of the service
hampers the free flow of information and so constitutes a major barrier to
effective communication.

Furthermore, the fact that the service also has its sites
located in different parts of the London leads to the problem of geographical
barriers which also hinder effective communication within the department.

There is also the problem of physical barriers, which
emanates from the fact that workers are physically separated from each other
as a result of offices located on different floors / area of the library
building.

Moreover, it is evident that communication is in the key
factor of conveying instructions, orders and command. As such, this type of
downward communication, which views communication as one-way, cannot be
effective as long as it fails to make provision for upward communication
through the use of feedback.

MOTIVATION

The two key ideas of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
were used to analyse the Library and learning Services. Given that people
differ widely in their needs, it is necessary that to tackle a motivational
problem the first thing required of management is a necessity to understand
the particular needs that are most important to the individual worker.

The information gathered shows that management only tends
to motivate employees intrinsically due to reluctance to spend money to
improve the lives of workers. This approach is considered by staff as selfish
and exploitative. Most of the staff interviewed explained that it is unfair
and unjust for management not to match increased responsibility with increase
in pay. They express support for extrinsic motivation to give financial
compensation to good performance and pointed out that it is sad that
management tends to reward employees who are known to be unproductive instead
of productive staff.

Figure 4.5: ’s Hierarchy of Needs

Source: (1987), , (.) and

LEADERSHIP STYLE

Basically, there are four types of leaders: the
dictatorial, the autocratic, democratic and the laissez-fair. The dominant
feature of the dictatorial leadership is fear through threats of penalties and
dismissals. The philosophy is based upon the individual’s ability to satisfy
the basic needs of himself, and his family if he is thrown out of work. In
other words, employment means survival, unemployment means deprivation and
starvation. No doubt, this negative approach is successful in the short run
where such situations apply, but only up to a point because the disgruntled
background which limits the efforts of most people will always be present.

The autocratic approach, relying upon the people looking
for guidance and support, is made possible by centralising authority and power
in the leader, who makes decisions without consultation or participation from
others. This type of leadership is very demanding on the manager who must be
strong as he takes full responsibility for his decisions. Though it may be
successful with the right person being in-charge, there is always a
possibility that utilising the staff in a particular way may be more effective
where bright people are involved.

The more modern approach to leadership is through the use
of democratic principles. This is achieved by decentralising authority and
decision-making. Consultation and participation are the key words, which
produce belongingness, recognition, satisfaction and group spirit, all of
which result in higher motivations. Unfortunately, this approach is also very
demanding on managerial qualities and many other conditions have to be right
before it can be successful, desirable though it is.

The analysis of the case study of the Library and learning
Services as well as responses from interviews conducted show that the
leadership style (management) is autocratic and task-orientated one. This is
because authority is highly centralised. Due to the non-chalant attitude of
management to feedback creates an atmosphere of job dissatisfaction, and
employees are not motivated to be at their best. Research evidence from
literature surveys show that a democratic style of leadership is more likely
to produce effective group performance.

TRAINING

The department’s policy was essentially based on political
approach which tended to either favour those in management’s “good books” or
to those considered to be troublesome. Therefore, selection for training was
not made on purely motivational basis to enable the individual to acquire
higher qualifications to enhance his or her career prospects either within or
outside the organisation. It is trite to say that no amount of fun will
improve productivity if employees have not been given the right training.

CULTURE

’s classification of culture was
used to analyse the Library and learning Services. Against this background and
in view of data collected, it is evident that the blame culture was very much
the case in the department. The leaders and supervisors were accused of not
being supportive to their subordinates. This fact did not encourage the
willingness to learn or urge, to demand for greater responsibility on the part
of employees who exhibited apathy as an indication of de-motivation in most
cases especially by high level absenteeism and higher rates of income
generated.

TECHNOLOGY

While technology development is making it imperative for
every department / organisation wishing to survive and be effective to adopt
the latest technology, that is, mechanisation, computerisation and automation,
the Library and Learning Services has been fast to embrace the use of
technology to enhance its value , services and success.

4.2 ANALYSIS & FINDINGS OF QUESTIONNAIRE

70 Questionnaires were given out to staff on different
levels of the Library & Learning Services departmental structure of the
University of East London, 50 questionnaires were returned. In total this
represented 71% return rate.

Figure 4.6 to figure 4.10 below are based on the analysis
and findings of the questionnaires returned.

60% of the staff surveyed viewed their organisation’s
communication level to be fairly good, while only 16% surveyed viewed it to be
very good. A significant 24% viewed their. Organisation’s communication level
to be fairly poor because they feel their department is not very good at
communicating with all staff and that information is not always fully
disseminated. No staff viewed communication to be very poor which is a good
sign.

How well
Informed are employees in the organisation overall ?

Very
Well Informed

Fairly
well Informed

Poorly
Informed

Not
informed at all

42

106

77

15

Figure 4.7:
How well informed are employees in the organisation overall

44% of the staff respondents said that they were fairly
well informed of the department’s future plans, financial performance, current
plans, present performance and activities in other sites of the department,
while 18% said they were very well informed because they were on the senior
management team. A significant 32% said they were poorly informed because they
feel that the department does not communicate the future plans, financial
performance, current plans, present performance and activities of other sites
with staff not on the management team. Most staff said that they were not
consulted regularly regarding the above. It was observed that they would like
to be consulted by weekly or monthly updates in newsletters or on the
intranet, and would like to have frequent staff meetings. 6% said they were
not informed at all because they were student assistants (the 5 criteria on
question 8 of the questionnaire were analysed to arrive at the figures in 4.7
above).

How
satisfied are employees with organisations communication level?

Satisfied

Dissatisfied

Not
applicable

71

35

2

Figure 4.8:
How satisfied are employees with organisations communication level

Data was derived by adding answers from questions 7 & 11 on
the Questionnaire used for the purpose of this research. According to the
survey 66% of staff were satisfied with the department’s communication level
stating that they have enough information to do their job well and are
satisfied with the way they are able to influence the departmental decisions
that affect their job or work. The survey also found that 32% of staff were
dissatisfied with their jobs mainly because management do not act upon
feedback from junior staff and there is little communication with staff on a
lower level, who also felt

that they were not valued nor appreciated. 2% felt the
question was not applicable.

Suggestions
from staff based on the survey

Figure 4.9:
Suggestions from people based on the survey

In the Survey of 50 members of staff within the Library &
Learning Services 37% said they want more frequent staff meetings, while 37%
wanted better communication with junior staff. 13% of the staff surveyed
suggested that they would like to have monthly email, newsletter from the
director’s office and another 13% would like to see management act upon feedback
from staff.

How
communication is achieved in the organisation.

Informal feed back

From manager

Formal team meetings

Employee trade union
representatives

Departmental newsletters/annual
reports

Email/Intranet

Discussion between

colleagues

Appraisal

Sessions

With your

Manager.

32

23

1

8

34

38

7

Figure 4.10:
How communication is achieved in the organisation?

According to this survey 24% of staff are heavily reliant on email / intranet to
communicate information in the department, while 26% get information about the
department through discussion between colleagues.22% access information about
the department only when they have informal feedback from their manager. 16% of
the staff surveyed said that they get most of the information about the
department from formal meetings, while 6% get information from departmental
newsletters / annual reports. 5% of staff survey gets information about the
department only when they have annual appraisal sessions with their managers and
only 1% said they get information from employee / trade union representatives.

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 CONCLUSION

The study has proved overwhelmingly that employee performance
has been below expectation. Although this is of concern, it is important to
recognise the past problems but move forward with a plan. Therefore, it is
important that departments / organisations adopt the philosophy of learning
organisations and use past experience to improve and enhance future employee
performance. A focus on quality will increase the department's competitive
advantage if the goals of the department become ultimate quality performance
based.

Organisations / departments should realise that quality is
ultimately the provision of value in the eyes of increasingly value-conscious
customers. An organisational / departmental performance can be regarded as the
direct result of how effectively the system is structured and managed. This
focus on internal issues, such as communication aspects will support external
processes and give the department / organisation the ability to provide the
customer with what was promised, as it is this that leads to customer (student)
retention and loyalty.

In conclusion it is necessary to say that the technical
performance and business contribution of Internet application has proved to many
organisations / departments world wide that intranet technology is a cost
effective and efficient approach to supporting corporate strategy and
effectiveness and employee performance.

There is also the need to promote leadership communication
and developments as a strategy to enhance employee performance.

Another vital component in the maintenance of culture is
constantly to review and obtain feed back on current strategy and performance.
Performance measures need to reflect the values to which department /
organisations espouse articles of incorporation and the objectives they are
striving to meet. Additionally, companies must allow for individual goals and
ambitions of employees. After all without people there will be no organisational
success. Organisations/departments do not succeed or fail it is the people
therein who do.

5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS

A number of factors identified in this study will be of
benefit to the Library and Learning Services department and the University of
East London as a whole in the future.

Both enhanced lateral and vertical communication must be
provided to fulfil the coordination requirements of the department /
organisation.

The problem is not only to ensure that appropriate
communication is designed in the system, but to assure that the design is
carried out in practice.

There is the need to adopt a bottom-up communication approach
to enhance the relationship between manager / supervisor and subordinate
relationship as a means of enhancing employee performance.

Every time this is encouraged, opportunity for feed back
which in turn encourages the free flow ideas and attitude between hierarchy
levels in an organisation / department is stimulated. Upward communication can
give higher management many clues regarding the most effective management
strategies if only those higher levels would listen. At least it will provide an
idea on how much of downward message actually reached its destination and how
well it was received and understood.

There is also the need to promote leadership communication
and developments as a strategy to enhance employee performance.

Another vital component in the maintenance of culture is
constantly to review and obtain feed back on current strategy and performance.

It is necessary to say that the Library and Learning Services
department and the University of East London as a whole will reap huge benefits
if the recommendations contained in this report are implemented.

Although, the financial implications may be significant it is
envisaged that it is a worthwhile venture, especially as the implementation of
the plans will be gradual, and therefore in phases.

APPENDEX 1

Questionnaire
on effective Communication

Topic: The impact of effective communication on employee
performance:

A Case Study of University of East London Library & Learning
Services

This questionnaire is for academic purposes only and is part
of my research for my MBA studies. It would greatly assist me if you would
consider completing it and returning it by 20/4/07 to 23/4/07. It should only
take you a few minutes of your time. The results will be treated in the
strictest of confidence and anonymity in the final report. A copy of this report
will be made available to you in May 07 should you so wish. Apologies for the
short time scale but hope you can assist me.

Q1.
Sex Male

Female

Q2. What
is your age? 20 or younger

21 - 24

25 - 29

30 - 34

35 or
older

Q3.
Position in the Department…………………………………………………………

Q4. How
long have worked for the
Department………………………………………..

Q5. In
general, how good do you think your department is at communicating with its
employees?

Very good

Fairly good

Fairly poor

Very poor

Q6. How
good do you think the department is at listening to its employees?

Very good

Fairly good

Fairly poor

Very poor

Q7. Do
you generally feel you have enough information to do your job well?

Yes

No

Not sure

Q8.In general, how well informed do you feel about the
following?

Very well informed

Fairly well informed

Poorly informed

Not informed at all

The department’s

future plans

The departments’s

financial performance

The department’s plans

Your department’s

Performance

Activities in other sites

of the department

Q9. Where
do you currently get most information about the department?

Informal feedback from your manager

Formal team meetings

Employee/trade union representatives

Departmental newsletters/annual reports

Email/intranet

Discussion between colleagues

Appraisal sessions with your manager

Q10. How
often are you asked by your team leader, manager or anyone else for your views
on the following?

Frequently

Sometimes

Hardly ever

Never

Future plans for your

workgroup

Staffing issues

Changes to working

practices

Health and safety issues

Q11. In
general, how satisfied are you with the influence you have on departmental
decisions that affect your job or work?

Very satisfied

Fairly satisfied

Fairly dissatisfied

Very dissatisfied

Q12. Do
you want to add any other comments on how to improve communication in the
Department?